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Ibm 5150

Yeah, I washed a few VIC-20 cases last Saturday. I got rid of a bit of dirt, but as we all know, the yellowing doesn't go away with soap and water. Yet it disgruntled me a bit that a computer stored in a crowded (dirty?) basement for years catches less dust than one kept nicely in a desk drawer. I thought about taking pictures, but didn't.

Since before, I know about a web page that step by step goes through restoration of a BBC Master 128, and yesterday I saw a similar page describing how to restore a Commodore Plus/4. Maybe this is something more people should do, in particular with more difficult systems to disassemble properly.
 
About an hours progress this morning, but unfortunately rain stopped play so the 5151 will have to wait until it clears up.

The best cleaning product I have found so far - Cif and a scrubbing brush! You can see how mucky and scratched the case was.
5150_case.JPG


The front panel was removed (5 screws), washed and scrubbed as was the metal back panel. The front cleaned up very well, but the metal cover was really scratched on the left hand side and on the top. There was all sorts of pen marks over it too. I found that automotive scratch-remover paste works wonders! Compare the photo of the side with the ones on the second page. Here are the "after" pics:

5150_case2.JPG


5150_case3.JPG


5150_case4.JPG


As you can see, I have removed the old network card from the expansion slots, leaving two available. I'll have to look in my box-o-bits to see if I have any blanking covers to fit.
 
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carlsson said:
Yeah, I washed a few VIC-20 cases last Saturday. I got rid of a bit of dirt, but as we all know, the yellowing doesn't go away with soap and water. Yet it disgruntled me a bit that a computer stored in a crowded (dirty?) basement for years catches less dust than one kept nicely in a desk drawer. I thought about taking pictures, but didn't.
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It's very true, the computer that have been used the most are always a nasty yellow colour. I have two VIC-20s, one was hardly used, and another was used heavily. The unused one is a beautiful white, the heavily used one is a disgusting dark yellow! Of course, the unused one is broken due to lack of use (I've swapped the boards over now, he he)

Since before, I know about a web page that step by step goes through restoration of a BBC Master 128, and yesterday I saw a similar page describing how to restore a Commodore Plus/4. Maybe this is something more people should do, in particular with more difficult systems to disassemble properly.
Click to expand...

I might do just that with the photos from this thread, it would be useful I think!
 
On the topic of yellowing, I noticed that there are two tabs on the top of the IBM 5151 display that cover the case screws. The IBMs where painted beige, whereas these tabs where just plastic coloured to match. And guess what? The tabs are a nasty yellow, whereas the IBM is still the correct colour.

5151_yellowing.JPG
 
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The sun has come back out, and now the 5151 has taken it's turn to be cleaned up.

You have to clean the front of the display very carefully, as it is nearly impossible to dismantle it. DO NOT use water! I used Cif cream cleaner on a dry brush, and it does work. Wipe it off with a towel, then use a rinsed-out towel to clean afterwards. The back of the display can be removed and cleaned.

So, now for the beauty shots :D

5150_front.JPG


5150_right.JPG


5150_left.JPG


5150_back.JPG


5150_badge.JPG


All I need now is a keyboard......
 
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dongfeng said:
All I need now is a keyboard......
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You'll probably end up cleaning that too when you get ahold of one! :)

Nice job of cleaning it. The computer would probably generate at least 25% higher bids in an auction if presented in that condition?
 
Of course the keyboard would get its chance too :D

I am sure it would be worth a fair bit more than I paid, simply becuase it is clean. I noticed that on eBay scruffy PCs and XTs sell for relatively little, whereas nice clean ones complete with manuals can fetch horrific prices.

I don't have any manuals for it, but some will turn up on eBay with time.

Earlier in the year there was a 5150 identical to this one, but was complete with the Guide to Operations and DOS manuals, along with the original boxes, which fetched £1,100!

Mine isn't for sale though, I'm going to enjoy it :)
 
dongfeng said:
About an hours progress this morning, but unfortunately rain stopped play so the 5151 will have to wait until it clears up.

The best cleaning product I have found so far - Cif and a scrubbing brush!
Click to expand...

Funny, as in exactly what I used to clean up my 5160 :)
 
It's fantastic stuff! Slightly abrasive to take away the dirty layer, yet it won't do any damage or scratch. I highly recommend it :D
 
Great computer! ;)
Screen on 5151 looks much better that on 5153. Like someone said: "CGA was a crap" ;)


I'am going to do general cleaning to my Xt now... you know I've got a keyboard for it :p

And... mbbrutman I suggest you to put BIOSes specifications to 5150 vs. 5160 thread.
 
That is very true, the 5151 seems to have much better text clarity than the 5153, and also easier to read. But the CGA is colour... I don't know which to prefer! For games, 5153 is better, but for typing, 5151. The 5151 also seems a lot lighter than the 5153.

Post some photos of your XT! It's always nice to see pictures of others :)
 
I just double-checked the memory in the 5150. The mainboard has 256kB, and the expansion card has 192kB (3x63kB) - 448kB in total. I have two other expansion cards in my dead XT, a 256kB and a 128kB. I might consider putting them to my 5150, but even with 448kB it is sooooo slowwwww to boot... it takes over a minute - 640kB would take the rest of the day :razz: Also it would only give me one expansion socket remaining. I can see why the XT with 8 expansions was so popular :lol:
 
Okay, when I'll go back home I'll make general clean and post some pictures.

If you want put full-lenght hercules card in your 5150, if you could find old one then it would be quite original.
Then you will be able to play games and design some graphics programs.
 
Yes, you can! Start a new thread about your XT! I always like to learn about systems of others :)

Hercules card is a good idea, but I have XT for games. Maybe I will find one, I will put it in. Actually my XT has Hercules CGA card, I don't know how different this is to the IBM one.

I just realised, actually, 5150 DOES have a total of 640kB memory! I had counted the memory on the card incorrectly, not realising that the third row was 256kB, I thought they where all 64kB :rolleyes: So that is 384kB on the expansion card.
 
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I think I might have a spare (old) hercules card- just help me think in a few weeks as I'll be on holiday now.

p&p from Holland to England should not be the problem.
 
Thank you for the info, Luke!

Jorg, if you do have a spare Hercules I would be interested, please let me know otherwise I'll take my luck on that eBay one :)

My XT has a 5153 CGA display with a Hercules card. I think the model is GB200, but I can't find any info on the Internet. Does anyone know anything about this?

Hercules CGA front
Hercules CGA back
 
Hercules also made a CGA-compatible card, the Hercules Color Card, which could coexist with a monochrome HGC and still allow both graphics pages to be used.
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Found in wiki.
 
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